JU-ON: The Grudge About to Terrorize Europe-1.052009-10-25 08:32:18Maura SNAMCO BANDAI Partners France has just announced a new partnership with Rising Star Games (The Home of Japanese Games) to distribute all their titles for the next six months. What this means for European gamers is that we will actually be getting to see some very interesting and innovative Japanese games that we might otherwise missed out on. The first of these is JU-ON: The Grudge, the game of the very scary and disturbing psychological thriller that came out several years ago. (JU-ON was the Japanese original film and The Grudge was the American remake starring Sarah Michelle Gellar).
JU-ON: The Grudge has just been released in North American and has had some good reviews, especially from punters on Amazon, and it’s not hard to see why. With in-depth involvement from the creator of the original film, Takashi Shimizu, it’s no surprise that its creepy, spine-tingling atmosphere appears to have been faithfully and authentically reproduced in the game. It certainly seems to have the same disturbingly claustrophobic feel as previous cult Japanese horror game Fatal Frame/Project Zero. Anyone else remember that one?
The immersive nature of the gameplay using only the Wii Remote as a flashlight looks ingenious, as does the fact that the game measures your flinches and jumps as you play, which in turn has a negative impact on your game score. In essence, you have to remain as cool, calm and collected as you can in order to get a higher score, with your Fear Level receiving a rating. Apparently it’s designed to be played with your mates as well, making it just perfect for Halloween parties.
“We are absolutely delighted to have secured JU-ON: The Grudge for a European release,” said Yen Hau, Rising Star Games’ product marketing assistant. “This is a renowned horror title not only in its native Japan but also in worldwide cinema. This is as close as you can get to an interactive horror movie and is perfectly suited to join the Rising Star Games family.”* JU-ON: The Grudge is out in PAL territories on 30th October, just in time to rock your Halloween party. It’s already out in the US.* To find out more about JU-ON: The Grudge, check out http://www.risingstargames.com/
